In 2010, we began raising chickens for egg production. Our flock is housed in a mobile coop that rotates in our pastures. They are protected by an electric net fence within our electrified boundary fence. These pastured chickens eat insects, seeds, grasses and our feed and the quality of their eggs yokes are noticeably firmer and deeper yellow than confinement raised eggs. And more importantly, they taste better!

We order our female chicks from Meyers Hatchery in Ohio and receive them by US Mail. A chirping package starts the 17 week growth period until they begin to lay eggs. We've experimented with many different breeds -- White Leghorns, Red Sexlinks, Rhodes Island Reds, Plymouth Rocks and Americaunas. Once productive, our birds lay about 4 to 5 eggs a week -- 2 every 3 days.

The hens are very healthy as they live on green grass, have plenty of fresh air and sunshine. They help control livestock pests by scratching through manure and further fertilize our pastures with their own waste.

In 2013, we first experimented with broiler chickens. Meat birds grow very fast -- some varieties like the white Cornish Cross reach maturity in as little as 8 weeks. Our favorite meat bird is the Rainbow Ranger or Freedom Ranger. It is a red bird and reaches slaughter weight (5 to 6 lbs) in about 12 weeks. It is our experience that these birds are more hearty, more tolerant of heat and much less lethargic. Our broilers are raised in a ground pen which is moved in our pastures.

We process our broilers on-farm. The scalding, plucking, evisceration and vacuum sealing is done by us. There is lots of meat and chicken stock to enjoy!